#Travel SIM Comparison

[healthbusinesseducation]

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[livetogether--diealone]

went to an eprix and it was really cool (as a feeling because physically it was boiling!), got my spare deodorant confiscated, watched quali with a native roman rat, ate an icecream, melted some more, got waved by hot drivers on the starting grid, exchanged commisarated looks with fellow f1 fans, survived the portable toilets, saw a flying car, a nice race and a cute podium which I don't have pics of because I would have got a 500 degrees burn touching my phone, but was worth it! 🤌✨️🏎✌🏻 and got a free straw hat

[murfeelee]

TS3 vs TS4 Features - Supernatural

I saw @moonbiscuitsims' comment here about how EA added "way more features" in their TS4 occult packs, and I wanted to talk about it in depth, cuz that's a misleading statement. Y'all know TS4's my trigger.

Cuz yes, on paper, EA offers a LOT of stuff in TS4 packs. But the saying goes: as broad as an ocean and as deep as a puddle. 😬 QUALITY, versus QUANTITY, which is crucial for replayability, customization, variability, and ultimate longevity. And another thing is the TIMEFRAME that that content was released. Sure, if it takes you 10 years to develop/dripfeed your frikkin game, ofc you can add more content over more packs; than if you'd just stuck to ONE dedicated pack, developed it in 1-2 years, and given people arguably BETTER, if not MORE content.

My gut reaction's to say EA had BETTER be offering more content! 😤 Not even to justify the ridiculous pricetag or anything, but for the simple fact that TS4's supposed to be NEXT GEN. It's SUPPOSED to be bigger & better than everything that came before it. Why are we sitting here for 10 years with TS4 if it ain't gonna increase ANYTHING but my rising blood pressure & trust issues?!

So Imma just examine TS3 SN in comparison with TS4's packs, and give my take on what's been going on, from 2012 (SN EP) to now.

Missing Features: TS4 Fairies

A fairy was the very first sim I ever made in TS3 back in 2009 (my avatar sim, Sakura). Watching the SN announcement trailer for the first time dang near made me cry. TS4 could never; moving on.

Missing Features: TS4 Zombies & Toadsims

TS4 Tragic Clowns are a W for the apple juggling & costume. I think EA was lazy by slacking on the clown just cuz he's already dead in Sunset Valley; and I guess they don't expect players to resurrect his ghost. SN EP did nothing to actually improve/expand him, just creating the alchemy Clown Potion; I guess to better integrate fishing the Clownfish into the lore.

TS4 Vampires GP (2017)

This is an easy one. I've said since TS3 Late Night EP (2010) that TS3's vampires are utter dogtrash, and the SN EP did eff all to patch/improve them, and I will die on that hill (until someone figures out how to give convert TS4's functional coffins & vampire fights & special FX). Compared to every other occult, I have more mods installed just to try to fix how effing busted & stupid vamps are; and these sparkling Twilight dumb AF bloodsuckers STILL get on my dang nerves.

IMO, TS4 Vampires is hands down the best pack EA ever made for TS4. 10/10, the attention they put in that pack outclasses darn near everything else they did until TS4 Seasons. Undisputed W, yes. 👏

TS4 Realm of Magic GP (2019)

Disputed W. I gave it an 8/10 at BEST, cuz magic/fantasy's a win, but I am disappointed. If this had been a home run for EA, I'd've shut my dang mouth, ISTG. But alas. I went on a long AF tirade against RoM when I realized that a lot of its so-called "new" features were things we could already do in TS4, with a flashy coat of paint--let alone things TS3 & the SN EP did, and better. Some things I didn't mention though:

Muggles who ask spellcasters how to do magic are sent on a fetch quest for Magic Motes, which is EXACTLY what the ITF EP Time Traveler occult Emit Revelart makes normies do to, finding Power Cells to learn how to use the Time Portal.

The Witch's perks/ranks system works just like the Vampires one, so kudos to EA for not fixing something that ain't broke I guess.

The Spells: At MTS I actually broke down what each of TS4's spellcasters do that's largely nothing sims couldn't do in TS3, even before SN came out (via SHT Genies or SSNS Aliens, or the Store).

TS3 Witches (let alone other lifestates) can do most of this either through alchemy or inherited features from older TS3 packs. This was a huge RoM dealbreaker for me, as I'd been hoping for WAY more innovative features in TS4's spells--the whole point of Spellcasters--than just an elaborate set of cheats. TS3's Witch's main features are fewer, but far more cohesive, IMO. (Granted, NONE of the packs holds a single candle to the GOAT that is TS1's Makin Magic, which had WAY more features than TS2, TS3 & TS4; and was CHEAPER. But I digress.)

There's no unique features with TS3/TS4 wands; they act the same way; the effects are just different, and TBH I'm not a fan of either--I wish wand/magic FXs could be modded in different colors at least (like BLACK 😈). But I DO like that in TS4 they can duel for rewards.

TS4 brooms do EFF ALL in a closed world; EA made them exactly they way they were in TS2, with zero innovation. (IIRC kids can't even use them--EA's hatred for kids & elders ALMOST matches MY hatred of EA.)

IMO beekeeping doesn't count, cuz TS3 included it as a small feature for alchemy ingredients in the SN EP, while TS4 integrated it far better in SSNS to work with gardening, which is genius.

Speaking of SSNS, there's the Weather Stone that only appears if you have both SN & SSNS, so occults can conjure magical weather effects over the whole world. (I'll talk about the best perk under Crystals SP.)

Familiars are the certified W for me with RoM. They're the best & most unique & most well-thought out & feature of the GP, IMO. ❤️

Extra TS4 features I think are supremely cool are spellcasters' books floating whenever they read anything. And their cauldrons have much cooler animations, and I'm so jealous that y'all can cook food in them; EA should've added that to the Store Cauldron, although I guess I understand why they didn't in the SN EP Alchemy Cauldron.

A lot of RoM's features are wrapped around Glimmerbrook. Access to Glimmerbrook comes with the Glimmer Stone key--and I WOULD use that as a segue into the Crystals SP, but I'll hold off. I already vented about Glimmerbrook in my Werewolves GP rant--but I'll get to that in a minute, too. The bigger issue is what even constitutes a TS4 "world"--those non-customizeable tiny AF clusters of tiny AF lots and huge swaths of decorative set dressing--let alone the Diagon Alley ripoff EA loves promoting like I was born yesterday and never saw Harry Potter. GORGEOUS realm, of course, like many EA worlds are. But they're largely just set-dressing, which irritates me to no end.

TS4 Paranormal SP (2021)

I've ranted & raved about Paranormal before: 7/10 at best.

TS4 Seances with the crystal ball work very differently from TS3's Soothsayer's Crystal Ball, which wasn't about banishing ghosts, but improving progression for SN's Witches & Fortune Telling (career). Fortune Telling's NOT a ghostly job, although the boho aesthetic carried over to TS4 Paranormal. (On top of the fact that they promised this whole NOLA Voodoo vibe, but delivered ZERO cultural accurate features reflecting ANYTHING from Haitian Voodoo, wtf? It's all hippie boho New Age BS--why TF does the tutorial ghost look more like Johnny Depp and less like Dr. Facilier, I ask you, EA.) Granted, some of the interactive objects are nice, like the calming dollbaby & magic candles to purify lots--kinda like TS3 incense. But again: 1-trick ponies. Yes, the animations look great, but crystal balls are typically for divination, asking spirits about the past/present/future, not removing haunting poltergeists, so I don't really get it. Stylish & gorgeous! But GENERIC AF substance-wise.

IMO, TS4's Ghosts are an L across the board; all the way from the base game--that bafflingly launched in 2014 WITHOUT ghosts until they were patched in a whole month later after everyone rose a stink (IIRC TS4 kids can't be ghosts!?)--to present. EA's been over/course-correcting from that gaffe ever since, with like double the amount of Death types than TS3. I DO NOT like how TS4 ghosts colors are tied to Eeemotionnsss~! (more like they're a sentient Plumbbob). TBF, kudos to TS4's smoky cloudy effect when ghosts appear. But the lack of unique deaths & ghost types in RoM (aside from Spellcaster Overload & the Night Wraith) made me roll my eyes, as SN EP's ghost types are some of my faves (ITF & SHT are also my top 3).

IIRC it was the SN patch that unlocked all types in (basegame?) CAS to make playable Ghosts. SN's Philosopher's Stone allows sims to summon new playable Ghosts (and ofc allows for transmutating cheap objects into gold ingots--more on that later), or it can just kill you and make YOU the new ghost, LOL.

But as for features, sure, TS4 ghosts have more interactions--though they're all pretty, rather than scary (vs TS2 ghosts, which were SCARY). TS4 ghosts lost the HORROR to just be silly/goofy or just CUTESY--especially the little spectres from Paranormal.

Speaking of horror, I can't talk about ghosts w/out bringing up TS3's AMB EP, cuz the Ghost Hunter (profession) is the real parallel with TS4's Paranormal Investigator (freelancer). In TS3, they actually stuck to their promised main premise (Ghostbusters). Overall, TS4 Seances are nowhere near as fluid as TS3 ghostbusting. In TS3 you can run all over the world using gidgets-gadgets to detect/fight ghosts & sprites, not just inside haunted houses, but anywhere they happen to spawn (ofc inc. graveyards). You're not just locked to a lot/house the player already knows is haunted (cuz you just toggle Haunted Lot to trigger the feature--SN's Ghost Gnome object isn't exactly the same, but it does spawn hauntings on the lots you put them in). ANY TS3 indoor/outdoor residential/community lot can randomly get haunted during a Ghost Hunter's shift; and you never know which one it'll be, or what kind of shenanigans will happen--EVIL ghost or just some sprites--which skyrockets replayability & keeps things fresh & interesting.

Functionally, Paranormal had no right to be that dang good for a Stuff Pack. That was a Game Pack; IDKY EA insists otherwise; esp. when it offered more & better things than some actual GPs. I'm confused. However, a serious problem TS4 has is that it gameifies everything to the point that TS4's numerous features lose their spontaneity, and just become rote--BORING. The ectoplasm everywhere just becomes another mess in your (haunted) house you have to clean--CHORES. On top of me not liking TS4 ghosts' look & vibe (and I HATE TS4's Bonehilda). Quality over quantity, EA!

TS4 Werewolves GP (2022)

Speaking of ghosts, waaaay back in 2020 I told the spirits precisely what I wanted from a potential Werewolf dedicated TS4 pack. Did they listen? HAYUL NAW. So in 2022 I said everything I had to say about the Werewolves GP, and accepted the fact that EA's INEPT.

Do TS4's wolves have MORE features than TS3? YES ofc (even in 2012 everyone complained that Witches & Faeries got the lion's share & Werewolves got shafted--they're basically glorified Familiars for Witches/Alchemist to find collectibles--more on that below). But was most of it GOOD features though? Debatable! I LOATHE the 2 wolf packs, which was what I'd most looked forward to; plus the whole world's aesthetic was ugly homeless-grunge, without a single bit of creativity or originality--only EA could make monsters as terrifying as werewolves effing cartoony hipster squatters. 🤦 7/10 at best.

TS4 Crystals SP (2024)

These crystals are ugly, EA. Which is weird, cuz the basegame TS4 gems & esp. space rocks are GORGEOUS. I have no idea which vision-impaired dev at EAxis thought these nasty looking opaque poorly-painted rocks were pretty.

Features-wise, granted, having TS4's bonafide Gemology skill from the Crystals SP's nice, instead of TS3's basegame hidden Collector skill. But the functioanlity's largely the same: cut more, unlock more (which I prefer to cheat my way through--TS3 thinks I have time for all this gameplay, LOL). (Not to mention all the extra features TS3's Aliens, Simbots & Plumbbots have when interacting with gems, space rocks, or metals.) TS4 only got 10 gem cuts for 27 crystals (=270), (+25 metals); compared to TS3's 16 gem cuts for 28 gems (=448), (+16 metals with their own separate ingots). Of TS4's 10 cuts, the Skull Cut is the ONLY one I think looks better (ignoring the atrociously flat textures ofc) than TS3's (which TS4 copy/pasted--no agates, no crystal ball, wtf).

The Garden Gnome cut isn't unique to TS4, as TS3 has several craftable (glass-only) Garden Gnome cut from the Glassblowing Machine (more on that soon).

The only TS3 gem that genuinely affects sims is radioactive Tiberium from the WA EP, so more features is definitely a plus. The best addition is TS4's Charging Grid feature--I LOVE that TS4 crystals can be imbued with magic energy--it's like TS3's Store Crystal Tree, ITF EP's magic crystal plants & the SN EP Mood Lamp all rolled into one. @greenplumbboblover's WIP Interests & Hobbies mod brainstormed integrating that functionality that back in 2020.

The functionality of the TS3 SN EP Gem Cutter & the TS4 Crystal Tree are similar, though ofc the tree's wallet & eco-friendly; and it's a plant, not a hunk of machinery, so it naturally has that going for it.

There's also the SN-SSNS Weather Stone, which gives werewolves the ability to summon a Hunter's Storm, raining a hail of gems, rocks & metals over the whole world for easy loot farming. (The best perk, though my fave is the Faeries' Reviving Sprinkle for gardening.)

Aside from SN, TS3's real equivalent is actually the Prism Art Studio Venue's Artisan skill. Cuz the REAL seller's the jewellery-making. There's ~100 CAS items in Crystals SP (plus 30+ regular Build/Buy mode objects). At $10, the Crystals SP is a steal, at least when compared to the BONKERS $20 tag on TS3's Prism Art Studio at the Store (2014). IIRC the Glassblowing Machine newly added 16 craftable CAS items & 13 craftable glass objects (as SN already gave us the Gem-Cutting Machine & AMB already gave us the Widgets work station); and 8 Build/Buy objects (inc. the goated L-shaped "spiral" stairs). It also added 5 craftable Perfumes for sims to use.

So while the Crystals SP added NICE features, I wouldn't say they added MORE features. Rather, they added more content: Quantity. But as for Quality, I think TS3 beats it out--the Prism Studio's a effing ripoff, but AFAIK it added features TS4 still doesn't have yet (craftable glassblowing & perfumes, spiral stairs); and the objects it did add are pretty nifty.

Timeframe-wise, we got the 2014 Prism Art Studio's Glassblower 2 years after the SN EP's Gem-Cutter; 5 years after the 2009 basegame. Compared to TS4's wait for the Crystals SP 2 years after Werewolves, 3 after Paranormal, 5 after RoM; and a whopping DECADE after the basegame launched in 2014. Wtf, EA?

Still, I'd say the Crystal SP's a 7/10 (there's not enough gem cuts, the gems textures are ugly, and most of the features were lifted from things TS3 had innovated 10+ years earlier).

TL;DR

Quantity =/= Quality.

EA's been taking way too long releasing packs to have the nerve to present debatable content--it should be goated releases EVERY time; esp. since everyone agrees TS4 is easier to create content for, so much smaller in scale/scope, and with an infinitely larger budget & fanbase than The Sims franchise ever had. There's zero excuse for EAxis' mediocrity, when TS3 was churning out EPs like it's life depended on it: SHT, SN, and SSNS all came out the SAME EFFING YEAR. 2012 was LIT.

EA, you suck.

[net-ntlm]

Potentially Unused Level in The Sims 2 PSP

After booting up normally into Sims 2 PSP, you'll be greeted with the main menu screen which is located at levels/cas, but there also does exist a map at levels/interface/mainmenu which seems to be an earlier version of this map.

Loading into the map in-game using a modified lua travel script will result in the game going into a panic state or crash it entirely within a couple seconds.

The title screen will even pop up momentarily before the game bugs out and loads into another map. It is possible to use jpcsp to rip the model within those couple of seconds to get a slightly more detailed look at what this level looks like

This looks like it could be a portion of an earlier Espiritu Estate. For the sake of comparison, here's what that looks like in the final game from a similar angle

Earlier one is clearly unfinished, but the road in front of it also looks different from what's supposed to be the rest of Paradise Place.

Unfortunately jpcsp is somewhat limited with its object ripper and it won't rip a lot of the models outside of places the player has seen. It might be possible to load this instead of levels/cas as well, but I'm not sure if it would be possible to get any more of the map without more advanced ripping tools and/or understanding more about Sims 2 PSP file types.

[xx-j4nu5-c4t5-xx]

I've been thinking about PT9 and how he'd acclimate to Sim society, and what struggles everyone would face trying to incorporate him into everything, and I think the hardest thing would be communication. Sure, teaching terrestrial language to an alien species would be hard, but you're sure to find some kind of common ground somewhere in a verbal language. Eventually, using some sort of concept or comparison as a sort of key, you'd be able to start translating things.

But what if you didn't have a verbal language to work with?

Back on Sixam, everyone had antennae, and everyone was always sort of tuned into a huge cloud of thoughts and emotions, like a hivemind. There was this constant buzz of feeling, at all times of the day, ever present in everyone's lives. You could feel the boredom of the students in class a few buildings away, you could feel the grogginess of the morning as neighbors woke up and started to get on with their days, you could feel everything. The aliens had written language, for documentation and stuff, but it didn't have a verbal equivalent. It didn't need one. You could have someone read the words, and the concepts could be shared immediately to everyone else in the room, no need to even open your mouth.

PT#9, having heard of the diversity and beauty of Earth (or wherever the hell Sims live idk), decides to leave everything he knows behind and settle down there. His travel through space isn't quiet, either, as he's got communication devices and a whole host of things on the ship that keep him tied to the network even when he's out in space.

And then he gets shot out of the sky by a fucking missile or something and when he wakes up in the crater, it's silent. Deafeningly, crushingly, overwhelmingly so. He can hear the remains of the ship smoldering and sparking, and the garbled noises of radio transmissions from the huge metal towers, but nothing holds any meaning. He can't feel anyone near him; at first, he's worried that he's crashed in a completely deserted part of the globe.

It only gets worse after he meets Jenny. He's trying to communicate with her, trying to understand what she's feeling and what she wants, but there's nothing. He can't tune into her wavelength, and it seems as though she can't tune into his. Nobody can. They just keep ignoring him, whether they mean to or not, and instead they just keep chattering on in that strange melody that pours out of their mouths without end. He's blasting signals out into the world around him, trying to explain that he's lost and confused and injured and scared, and nothing is listening. Nobody's there to even hear it.

Eventually, he starts picking up on things. The noises are usually consistent; these creatures make the same noises to refer to the same objects. The "egg" noise always refers to the white oval things in the little carton in the fridge. But sometimes the noises are wildly unpredictable, used for things they shouldn't apply to or trying to mean something entirely different with the same sounds. It's mind-boggling to him, and progress is slow, but the two of them make progress together. His field was always biology, anatomy, studies of the body and how it works and forms. He has an easier time understanding the diagrams in Jenny's textbooks than he does Jenny herself. He's definitely no linguist, but he tries his hardest to bridge the gap, for both their sakes.

He gets the hang of it after a few years, enough to get by, and sometimes to even hold a decent conversation, but it's always slow and never instinctual. The concept of trying to crush so many ideas and feelings into such odd and unnatural vocalizations feels pointless. Exasperating. Why can't they just listen to him directly and cut out the middle man?

Improvement gets exponentially faster after Johnny is born, though. Having everything laid out simply, and seeing how people start to understand these things from the ground up, helps immensely. Pol and Johnny sort of learn to be normal Sims together, or at least as close as they can get.

Finding out that are other aliens and half-aliens with antennae gave him a little bit of hope, but he quickly found that none of them really used them. Most of them had been born into all of this "talking" stuff, and the ones that hadn't had already become fluent in it beforehand, leaving no use for the direct communication. Strangetown was still quiet, filled with chatter that only had meaning if you focused as hard as you could on the sounds. Pol was always in the dark, no matter what he did.

He left Sixam to be free of the noise and rigidness of it all, and boy, did he get it. Nothing made sense to him anymore. Nobody was guiding him or telling him what to do or updating him on the news or simply spilling out all their frustrations into the network. It was just silence, for as far as the antennae could feel.

An extra tidbit that occured to me: Pol would know exactly what happened the night Pascal got abducted; for the first time in two decades, someone got close enough that he could eavesdrop on an intelligible message.

[not-she-which-burns-in-it]

Ok, my fixation on the Magnus Archives isn’t going away any time soon, and I don’t want to jump into Protocol yet because I’m not ready to say goodbye to Jon and Martin. And I don’t want resent some fabulous new characters just because they’re not my boys.

Instead, I played one of my favorite games. Turn on an album and use my theater brain to figure out how I would stage it. I had a 3 hour drive for an out of town gig, so I listened The Mechanisms all the way there and back.

Each album got 2 listens in a row, one for vibes and appreciation, and one to dissect and take notes.

I think I like The Bifrost Incident the best. The songs are so good. A train set would be totally reasonable to build. Utterly destroying it a little bit harder, but I was thinking of a large scale regional production (something like Papermill, ART, La Jolla) where automation/projection/special effects aren’t an issue - so we could explode a train.

The problem is that it’s a train … In Space!

Outer Space and Theater feels so deeply incompatible. Not that people haven’t tried, I’m just not sure I’ve ever seen someone do it successfully (sorry Jonathan Larson) But that’s fine. This is a reimagining, it doesn’t have to be an outer space train, it can just be a train traveling through the BiFrost.

Ok, then I started thinking of design, maybe more of a steampunk aesthetic to go with the train. But hey, wait a minute, a pantheon of gods, in a tragic story about a doomed train, singing a little jazzy-folky, cabaret tunes.

Oh. Fuck. We’ve just invented Hadestown. 

And every design and staging idea, I’ve been mulling over for the past hour drive vanishes in a puff of smoke. Nah, I can’t do a big intricate metal spiral staircase. That’s too fucking close to Hadestown.

It’s even got the narrator that pretends to be neutral, but is actually deeply emotionally invested in the story. And while I like Jonny’s vocals very very much it’s just mean, - for any performer - to allow the audience to draw a direct comparison to Andre DeShields.

So it’s with a heavy heart I put The Bifrost incident down and try the Snow White/Rose Red album Once Upon a Time (In Space). And unfortunately, I think we’ve hit market saturation of gritty warlike retellings of Grimm’s fairytales. I’m sure this absolutely fucking slapped in 2012, but in 2024 Disney’s Once Upon A Time has ruined the possibility for everyone. I tried so hard to imagine a design, but all I could see was either that or the new generation of Disney live action remix. Or even that one Huntsman movie with Kristen Stewart as Battle!Snow White.

I kind of love, weird, obscure shit, though, I could totally see this, finding a home in fringe circuit. Unfortunately, you need those institutional dollars if you want highly stylized, long wigs and battle armor and spaceships. It’s the intrepid black box theater troupe that gets a show that looks like this:

But with less tailoring.

So with a great sadness, I put Once Upon A Time In Space on the reject pile for my fantasy new musical development workshop.

The next time I have a long drive I’ll try out Ulysses Dies at Dawn but unfortunately, that would be a race against time since there are about four different odyssey themed musicals in development right now. One of which, epic, is getting a lot of traction online. And another will be coming to one of the LORT theaters I mentioned earlier. (Fucking call me back [Redacted] am I working on [redacted] or not UGH)

So, I’m about three years too late to win that game. [inset joke about Gatsby vs Gatbsy here].

All this is just fantasy of course, even if I did strike gold I would still need to convince actual-human Jonathan Sims to engage in a years long, time consuming, deeply frustrating development process, on the wrong continent. So for the absolutely microscopic overlap of my followers, who are both invested in The Magnus Archives/ The Mechanisms and also Musical Theater, I’m sorry to disappoint.

But it is nice to think about New Ideas tm for theater while making my yearly sacrifice to the gods of freelance employment and do another year of The Nutcracker. Oh well at least I’m not Christmas Caroling this year.



[talesfromthebacklog]

Tales From The Backlog: FaeFarm

6/10

I’ve heard this game being quoted by a few folks as the cozy game of the season. While it is good; the game holds itself back from being truly great.

FaeFarm doesn’t have a ton of substance. It has an awesome aesthetic and solid gameplay, but it made a lot of choices that weakened it in comparison to its competitors. And while it has a strong aesthetic, I would dare say FaeFarm doesn’t have a strong identity.

The best way I’d pitch FaeFarm to other people is that FaeFarm is a strong introductory game that will easily get anyone acclimated to farming/life sims. It is not first on my recommendation list in general for most gamers though.

Let’s dig into why that is.

I want to first talk about what I think FaeFarm gets absolutely right. Tools and your weapon don’t take inventory slots. They get to exist in a separate pocket and switch out for you automatically. Brilliant. Loved this. I never knew how much I wanted a system like this. This should just be the standard from here on out. Period. Inventory management is a key part of the gameplay in these games but at the same time I feel like most people want stuff like their pickaxe always on hand.

Especially in a magic world. This isn’t Resident Evil, let me carry around essential tools.

This along with the infinite shed inventory that can be accessed by all of your work stations are so good. But It still draws the line where it can’t be accessed just anywhere and I like that.

The dungeon “elevator” chart that shows you what item that is on each floor you completed is also a great quality of life improvement. The rates they appear also appear on that chart which is another neat touch. It adds to the sense that you’ve completed an area.

Flower breeding is here too. It’s a simple mechanic, but I enjoy making fields of rainbow flowers. I always enjoy this mechanic when it’s present.

Then there’s the actual farming. Which you could theoretically skip altogether. The game offers several vegetables but things are in categories. So whether you have a potato or an onion the game simply classifies it as a root vegetable. Which ruins the point of the variety. And while FaeFarm has seasonal vegetables, most of the plants you have you can plant during any season. I can grow corn year round if I want to. (That is a complaint)

Don’t get it twisted, the farming is fun. It’s a lot less time/stamina consuming which makes it so you can run around doing your other activities. I like that the super moves cost mana rather than stamina so you can save it for other things. But the variety feels… shallow when they all end up being processed into the exact same things. You get the feeling that it didn’t matter what you picked or what season you picked it.

This isn’t just the farming, by the way. Fishing, catching critters, foraging. The only things that truly get differentiated is metals and gems. Which some people may like, but I don’t.

I feel like that’s the common theme with FaeFarm. It’s a shallow experience. Which isn’t meant to be a knock against it. But the game definitely comes across like it’s… structured for young children. And I acknowledge it is. That’s not a bad thing and not all games need to be deep, but this shallowness affects the core gameplay. It’s going to be the difference between the game being remembered or forgotten for its competitors. I’m cool with being wrong but I think FaeFarm is gonna disappear from gamer’s memories very quickly.

The shortcuts in FaeFarm (especially after you get your faerie wings) are a lot more satisfying than other games. Especially with the winged double jump. You can swim too! Moving feels good. I love that there are unlockable fast travel points.

Combat is fine. Animal care is standard fare. The dungeon crawling is solid. The enemies are standard fare. I really have nothing special to mention about these aspects. The story is standard fare. It’s cute. I like it. The drawn cutscenes are cute:

Coming back to those aesthetics, let’s talk about THAT: I’ve always had a soft spot for fem fantasy. Unicorns, mermaids, faeries, I unapologetically think it’s cool. That’s what attracted me to FaeFarm as a gamer.

But there’s a lot of small choices that make this aspect less fun. I thought there would be a large number of looks. There’s really not. Which is a shame because I think this aspect is actually really important to aesthetic games like this.

There is a surprising lack of options. From clothing, to dye, to the wings themselves. And these options expand over time but I can’t help but feel that some of these aspects, like dye, shouldn’t have been locked in the first place.

I get unlocking recipes and stuff. But it annoys me 100% of the time when a high aesthetic game makes dyes an absolute chore to get. Like let me live my life? And then the game doesn’t even let you pick the color of your starting outfit, so god forbid you want a hair color that doesn’t match.

It’s a nitpick but I stand by that nitpick. Games like Animal Crossing handle the dye situation a lot better. If you’re going to emphasize customization there should be some aspects that inherently make it more enjoyable. And they do emphasize it! You get rewarded for decorating by raising your stats. They leave little secret furniture recipes everywhere. They want that to be rewarding. But it’s not necessarily fun, it’s a means to an end. Let me have fun, because decorating currently is something only to boost my stats. And with a small furniture catalogue that would’ve gone a long way to making me want to actually decorate my house.

And then there’s the same face syndrome. Which is a shame because the body types and designs are largely really good. It feels wasted… and lazy.

Side note: I was thinking about what the models looked like. And the models from FaeFarm kinda look like the nicer Roblox characters folks like to make. Not saying that’s positive or negative. No complaint here.

The chibi sizes are a nice proportion. I don’t like the games (Harvest Moon does this frequently) where the game equates chibi characters to look like babies. I hate that. Especially with romancable characters. FaeFarm actually strikes this balance well.

Too bad the dialogue is… juvenile (It’s also super bland, but again you don’t play FaeFarm for the dialogue so I think that’s ignorable). FaeFarm isn’t meant to be deep. But it is hard to want to woo certain villagers when they act like actual children. And again… I acknowledge what FaeFarm’s target demographic is, but with romance NPCs it totally can turn me off to those sections of the game. It is what it is. I don’t care if it’s meant for children, I can still critique it.

Rune Factory does that shit too. Sometimes they even put in actual children which is a big ick. It genuinely can ruin the experience for me. Argyle suffers from that problem the most.

I dated this guy. Nhamashal. He was fine. I was either going to pick him or Pyria. I picked him because he matched my house better. Lol.

As far as I’m aware there is practically zero benefit to befriend or romance anyone. There is no functional benefit and the NPCs have near nothing interesting to say so there isn’t an emotional benefit either. (This is partially untrue. Friends will give you the same empty radiant quests over and over. But you would have made more money going and doing other things. So I consider them a waste of my time.)

FaeFarm’s residents don’t have enough identity or dialogue to care about whether you exist or not. I don’t even think my husband sleeps in the house. He just kinda mills around the farm now.

FaeFarm is a good game. But it isn’t first on the list of games I would be apt to recommend to other people. I’d suggest Rune Factory and Stardew Valley over Faefarm. But if you were looking for something new and you’ve already played those games, FaeFarm is perfect.

And… again Faefarm is a strong introductory game. It has a good, decently quick but in-depth, tutorial on how the world works. But that’s all I consider FaeFarm. It’s an introductory piece. I disagree with this being the cozy game of the season. I would say that’s too generous of a compliment. But it does get a lot right.

I would recommend FaeFarm over Story of Seasons and Harvest Moon. I get that some people like the slower pace but I just think games like FaeFarm, Rune Factory, and Stardew offer more complete experiences. “Harvest Moon” especially has really fallen off. I don’t touch those games anymore. I moved over with the real Harvest Moon to Story of Seasons.

[alltimefail-sims]

https://www.tumblr.com/alltimefail-sims/748883412368179200/i-thought-what-you-said-about-using-granite-falls?source=share where would you put forgotten hallow and glimmerbrook?

Again, not 1:1 here, but I personally imagine Forgotten Hollow would be in a state like Massachusetts/Connecticut/Delaware. I'm a history nerd at heart, and due to the Colony lore surrounding Vlad I can't help but personally headcanon Forgotten Hollow as a part of the original 13 British colonies. Anywhere in here would work:

Knowing what we know about Glimmerbrook, the (alluded to be) original Mesopotamian-adjacent spellcasters, and the accidental invention of vampires, we can confidently say that spellcasters predate their companion occults by a significant margin. Because of this, I see the OG Spellcasters as existing most prominently all over the Eastern part of the world (Europe, Asia, Africa, etc.), but not specifically central to any one area. They've had lots of time to travel and expand their kind for one thing, but also I think magic comes in all different forms and therefore is just accessible to every person/place/culture/ethnicity/etc. You get the idea!

For me, Glimmerbrook has always felt more like a place a lot of spellcasters fled to after the initial magical war, not a place of origin for their occult type. But as for where it is specifically in our real world, I group Glimmerbrook, Windenburg, and Henford together and would palce them all somewhere in central/western Europe!

But again, I don't think Spellcasters as a whole are isolated to one location! In my mind, the "newer" an occult is, the less likely you are to find them outside of their "source location" that houses peers of their same condition. This is why Werewolves, being the newest of the three, are still mainly based in Moonwood Mill and why the oldest and most prominent vampire clans are still located in Forgotten Hollow but do have a few other established clans that have branched out elsewhere (in places like San Myshuno, my NYC adjacent world, for example).

Because spellcasters are just sort of everywhere, I imagine there are well-hidden entrances to the magic realm all over the world and various ways to access the magic relam that don't require you to go to the portal in Glimmerbrook or any portal for thag matter - thus the stone they cary around, for example. Glimmerbrook just happens to have the largest and most obvious entrance because it was really never meant to be there in the first place! The Glimmerbrook portal is the remaining evidence of the spellcasters who had to make a hasty escape in the realm explosion and ultimately created a tear of that size in our world. There was no thought behind the location, the tear was just the result of a quick escape, thus why the location of Glimmerbrook has little to do with how spellcasters behave, speek, look, and so on. This would also explain why no one lives in the magic realm any more, and why Glimmerbrook is so unremarkably magical in its appearance by comparison. Today the Glimmerbrook portal is protected and monitored by the sages and other high ranking "protectors," but by and large Spellcasters have come and gone from Glimmerbrook over the years with no issue and no attachment. Some spellcasters weren't even in the magic realm, nor did they live there, when the explosion happened! Although some families have chosen to stay in order to be closer to the realm's entrance and their family's history to the realm itself, for the most part it was never intended to be a place spellcasters would be forced to stay forever; they don't need to live in Glimmerbrook to find individuals like themselves, as they're all over the world!

I hope that all made sense and that I didn't get too redundant; again I don't want to get into the governances of the magical world that I've made up unless people are really interested haha, so I tried to keep this as short and concise as I could. As always feel free to ask for clarification! Thank you so much for this ask!!! ❤

[fenraheart]

Welcome to my rant on why Mike walters is a worse person than Jon sims so people should be nicer to jon by the transitive property

I think a lot about comparisons between woe.begone and tma because they’re both hyperfixations but anyways here’s my unfiltered 2 am thoughts

(Spoilers for both ahead)

(Making the note now that “mike walters” refers to a collective of ALL mikes walters)

Something I find interesting is that mike walters is probably a worse person than Jon sims (despite Jon being sort of the cause for actually literally the end of the world), and yet mike’s friends are more sympathetic to mike than Jon’s friends are to Jon.

Like, Jon was manipulated into that, obviously he didn’t *want* that. I don’t really attribute that to him. Tbh the worst he’s done is eat some fear and kill some evil ppl but that’s not that bad. (My standards have been shifted so far due to mike walters LMAO)

You could *argue* that mike has been forced into doing shit but half the time it’s mike’s future/alternate self doing the forcing. He’s literally going “yeah I’m doing this to get time travel (power), not to help Matt” in season ONE. Part of the reason he wants power is because people are trying to kill him but like. It’s the pursuit of a horrifying technology beyond what humanity should have (cosmic horror, but that’s a separate tumblr post I’ll make at some point). I struggle to find a reason WHY Mike wants more and more power so bad but that’s part of the point. There isn’t really a point, other than to be the strongest one, the one on top.

Like, Jon is really trying to save the world. Mike wants power so that he can’t be pushed around by those above him. Both are willing to kill/hurt to survive, but mike’s motivations are inherently more selfish.

(There’s also the “mike(y?) kills 1500 people” thing but tbh im currently coping and hoping hunter’s lying about that one 🙂)

Anyways. Arguably Jon has a higher kill count if you count the apocalypse, but I don’t, so mike has the higher kill count and I love him for that.

Which brings me to my point. Why are people so mean to Jon??? He’s literally trying to do the right thing and manipulated at every step of the way. If mike “killed way more people than the average person” walters can have nice friends then Jon deserves nice friends. Mike will shoot someone he doesn’t know in cold blood if someone convinces him it’s for Edgar.

I’m spitballing here but it might be their meow meow factor. Jon tries to be appear more competent than he is, tries to cover up the inner pathetic meow meow. Mike is whiny and he canonically has “puppy dog eyes” and looks at people like 🥺 when they’re trying to kill him. He’s literally a cat he knocks things off the shelf (kills people) but then he goes 🥺 and you can’t stay mad at him. He openly admits to attempting to appear MORE PATHETIC to get a guy choking and threatening him to stop.

I have a databases midterm tomorrow so here are some functional dependencies of questionable accuracy of what a functional dependency is

Mike is a worse person than Jon —> his friends are nice to him

Jon is an okay person —> his friends are mean to him

Jon is an okay person —> mike is a worse person than jon

And here’s the kicker (transitive property):

Jon is an okay person —> his friends (should be) nice to him

[enable--llamas]

15 Questions for 15 Mutuals

Thank you @rstarsims3​ for the tag 🤍

◒ ◐ ◓

1. Are you named after anyone?

No. My mom picked my name solely on ✨vibes✨

2. When was the last time you cried?

Uh, I don’t actually remember? I’m not really a crier.

3. Do you have kids?

No.

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

Constantly.

5. What sports do you play/have you played?

Volleyball in middle/high school, nowadays I ski and ice skate when I have the time but it can hardly be considered much of a sport lol I’m lazy. Also I’d occasionally do a bit of yoga, but once again in a very half-assed way 😅

6. What’s the first thing you notice about other people?

General appearance and scent I guess?

7. Scary movies or happy endings?

Both? Both is good.

8. Any special talents?

I can procrastinate anything for unbelievable amounts of time. That and being constantly late to things.💀💀💀I guess I can also draw and am generally handy, but these pale on comparison to the first two.

9. Where were you born?

In the hospital?

10. What are your hobbies?

Sleep I’m an avid reader, I like art and interior design as a hobby ig? and simming/creating stuff as a direct result of it; I love traveling, I’m a bit of a wine enthusiast - that’s off the top of my head.

11. Do you have any pets?

No, but hopefully soon.

12. How tall are you?

1.77m

13. Fave subject in school?

Uh, that was so long ago 😅 I was always good at languages, tho idk if a favourite per se. We had an Ethics and Law class in high school that was pretty interesting, and I really enjoyed when we studied Genetics - but the rest of the Biology modules not so much 🥴

14. Dream job?

Something in my current sphere for sure (design).

15. Eye colour?

Hazel 👁

◒ ◐ ◓

I think most people have already done it at this point, but if you haven’t - consider yourself tagged, I’d love to read!

[enfinizatics]

meet my projection of a single father severus snape and my harry potter original characters, his children! i used sims 4 + blender + photoshop to make it all happen.

•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••

etna nox, a half-blood witch, was born on june 21st, 1980. she is the younger twin, with a mere 5-minute difference. etna hails from a british-american background, with her father being a british half-blood - none other than severus snape himself. her mother is a muggle american. etna's hogwarts house is gryffindor, and she identifies as bisexual.

etna enjoys various activities, such as art, drawing, and painting. she has a fondness for cats and surrounds herself with an abundance of plants in her side of the room. her interest in herbology extends beyond the classroom at hogwarts. etna appreciates muggle music and often listens to it on her walkman. crocheting is another pastime she finds pleasure in. being in nature brings her joy, and she often indulges in watching silly romcoms. mysteries intrigue her, and she holds a special admiration for ginny weasley, whom she has a crush on.

waking up early is something etna strongly dislikes. the history of magic class doesn't captivate her interest. she feels uncomfortable being alone and resents being told what to do. tidying up is not her favorite task, and she becomes protective when anyone shows interest in her brother. her father's moods can be challenging for her to handle, and she has an aversion to lies.

•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••

hugo nox, a half-blood wizard, was born on the 21st of june 1980. he is the older twin, with a 5-minute difference. hugo, a british-american, is the son of severus snape. he identifies as transgender and belongs to ravenclaw house. hugo's involvement in quidditch shines as he plays as ravenclaw's seeker. additionally, he holds the esteemed role of ravenclaw's prefect.

hugo finds a deep interest in astronomy and enjoys exploring the wonders of the night sky. he has an appreciation for poems and is an avid reader. during the summer, he loves visiting the local library. mysteries intrigue him, and he excels in charms class. hugo values neatness and takes pride in keeping his environment clean. as a seeker for the ravenclaw team, he has a passion for quidditch. he also has a fascination with muggle science and often engages in debates with his father.

a chaotic environment is something hugo dislikes, especially when it comes to his sister's side of the room. he feels uncomfortable in large crowds. etna's tantrums can be challenging for him to handle. conflicts between his father and etna are also sources of annoyance for him. he strongly dislikes bullies and holds a slight aversion towards gryffindor. his maternal grandfather is someone he does not particularly appreciate. comparisons between him and etna, especially being told that they look alike, can also be bothersome for him.

•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••

severus snape, a half-blood wizard, was born on the 9th of january 1960. he hails from a british background with polish roots. severus identifies as asexual biromantic and is associated with slytherin house. his expertise lies in potions, earning him the title of potions master. not only is severus skilled in magic, but he also holds a muggle chemistry degree. as the head of slytherin house, he maintains a leadership role within hogwarts. additionally, severus is the proud father of etna and hugo.

severus has a deep passion for potions and chemistry, finding solace in their intricacies. he appreciates neatness and enjoys a cuppa with a splash of milk or black coffee without sugar. chocolate is a guilty pleasure he indulges in from time to time. collecting herbs is another hobby he takes pleasure in. severus relishes in engaging in debates with others, often finding intellectual stimulation in such conversations. traveling allows him to explore new places and cultures, which he finds enriching. reading is a beloved pastime of his, particularly when it comes to mysteries. he also values the company of minerva mcgonagall and enjoys sharing tea with her. while he may outwardly express disapproval, deep down, he is actually fond of etna's familiar.

severus holds a general aversion towards gryffindors, often finding their traits unappealing. loud spaces are discomforting to him, as he prefers quieter environments. waking up early on the weekends is something he dislikes, relishing in the opportunity for some extra rest. grading papers can be tedious and time-consuming. he is particularly frustrated by etna's irreclaimable behavior, finding it challenging to handle. dumbledore's rants can be a source of annoyance for him. not having enough time to read is a personal frustration.

•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••

and that's it for now! i have a few more ocs created for this au so bare with me, cause I'll be def posting about them as well!!

[fundielicious-simblr]

(Adalynn's POV) (AN: This is one of 2 POV posts from Harvestfest. Let me know if you'd like posts [or even just 1 summary post] from the rest of the families from the other gen 2 siblings - I take pictures to compile albums for my own personal satisfaction and for comparison, so I'll have them in my google drive)

L-R - Adalynn [33], Barrett [32]& Macie [32], Zoe [30], Maggie [26], Reece [25], Beckett [24], Amira [23], Priscilla [22] & Annette [22], Charles [20], Parker [19], Ashton [17]

Happy Harvestfest! It's my favourite time of the year because it's essentially our annual family reunion, everyone in my family makes the trek back to my parent's house in Newcrest for a weekend of family fellowship and togetherness - even Beckett and Mandy in Selvadorada. All week the boys were asking about when we'd be leaving to grandpa and nana collins' house, and the day before we left they spent it doing all these drawings for their grandparents and all the aunts and uncles that they're going to be seeing. Whenever we're in Newcrest, we stay at my parents house, the boys sleep in the old boys room, and the youngest 2 room with us in the spare room. Macie, Annette, and Ashton still sleep in the girls room, all our old bunk beds are in storage and they've all got their individual beds in there. We try and make it in a few days earlier to help my mum and sisters prepare all the food that we'll be consuming over the weekend, this year the other kids who had to travel in are either staying with relatives or in airbnbs in the area since I get first dibs on the spare room as the out-of-town sibling with the most children. Since most of my out-of-town nieces and nephews are quite young, it's important for them to have their own space to sleep and not have to deal with the noise of a house full of other kids. Barrett and Kyleigh have the most kids, but they live in the neighbourhood so there's no worries there on where they'll stay - though they are looking to move houses sometime in the new year with this newest addition on its way.

Picture 1: L-R [Back] Adalynn, Macie, Zoe, Maggie, Reece, Barrett [Front] Annette, Amira, Priscilla, Ashton [Middle], Beckett, Charles, Parker // Picture 2: L-R [Back] Barrett, Beckett, Adalynn, Macie, Zoe, Maggie, Reece, Charles, Parker [Front] Priscilla, Ashton, Annette, Amira

Taking family pictures might just be my favourite part of Harvestfest, getting to see the pictures from every year that goes by and seeing the family grow and grow with the Lord's goodness. It seems like just yesterday that we were all living at home and fully involved in the hustle and bustle of life with 13 children at home. Those days were the best and I thank the Lord for choosing to place me with my parents and my siblings, my childhood truly was the best. Getting to update the various groups of pictures yearly is one of my favourite things to do, especially now that there are the grandkids, they even outnumber the original 13 kids that my parents had (AN: I genuinely didn't have the fortitude to try and pose all those children, toddlers, and infants - so just imagine that it happened. Maybe the next sim year cycle when these gestating babies have been born, because I need a good picture to use for my future 'before and after' posts.)

(Back L-R -> Beckett & Mandy, Thomas & Amira, Robert & Priscilla, Lorilee & Charles, Parker & Lana // Front L-R -> Adalynn & Mason, Barrett and Kyleigh, Zoe & Francisco, Maggie & Shane, Reece & Stacie)

This was the first year we've ever taken a 'couples pictures' where all the married/engaged/almost engaged (*cough* Parker) got together for a picture. In almost 10 years we went from just Barrett and I being married to there being 9 married couples and 1 *almost engaged* couple. Between the 9 of us there are 26 children - with 3 more on the way! That's double the number of us kids, with the hope is that we will welcome many more in the years to come.

This year we've got 3 pregnancies at the big house, knowing how my family works a few of us were expecting someone to announce their pregnancy when we were all together, but so far it's just these three ladies having babies. Priscilla also announced to us all that she's having a baby girl! She's due this winter around Christmas time, so we'll be getting her baby girl joining the family first. Her son Andrew is turning 2 next year, so she should have the same gap that I have with my boys with her kids. Kyleigh is pregnant with baby number 11 - imagine that! She and Barrett elect not to find out the baby's gender until she gives birth, so we have no idea whether this baby is a girl or a boy, her last 2 pregnancies were boys so I wonder if she's on a boy streak, she's due in the spring so I guess we've got a little bit more of a wait until we find out. Sweet Lorilee is having her first baby and she's carrying it so well! She's also due in the spring so she's just entering her 2nd trimester, she mentioned the morning sickness going down quite a lot which means she's able to actually enjoy the pregnancy now. She and Charles haven't decided if they want to announce the baby's gender, but her baby shower will be in a few weeks here in Newcrest. It would have been wonderful for it to be here whilst we're all here, but our weekend it already jam packed as there's more than the usual amount of relatives that came into Newcrest for Harvestfest, so it's a weekend full of reunions

[leafbatraccoon]

these were notes on my journal till yesterday but the news that we're getting the nectar-making skill with horses i figured i'd have some fun with it yet still be loud with my opinions, so i'll reblog with updates from time to time - im reposting with the original slot texts bc i was unhappy with my sleepless decision making 👍👍 | details under the cut if u wanna know but i'm a bit of a hater fyi |

longer seasons - i don't think this will happen, if miracle mods show up i might stamp them on in a different color but from what i've found it's pretty ingrained in the game that 28 days is the longest and if modders we're going to crack it they might've done it already but when im playing on pretty long life spans i just 💔💔 50+ days seasons would be the dream, but i'd be happy with 45 👀 10 outfits per category - same as before ig, this is probably super niche but i'm not satisfied and i hate having to get into cas to change it up so much bc in my head they have a closet each and i want to mix and match pieces in a realistic way 👚 pack refreshes - tbf, they did set up an expectation for that one which for the looks of it they are done with it; there's so much to fix, dine out in general, mermaids deserve some love in comparison to the other occults, updates to the bodies of water (going in the water in windenburg would be legendary), hu just bug fixes and compatiblity here and there would be nice (more hiking ? power walks in more places? its so weird how they are restricted to ONE place) now by world refreshes - i mean that in my dreams they go back and expand the maps they give us 🗺️🗺️ im greedy and want 2 neighbourhoods for my vampires & spellcasters, a lil more space in moonwood mill, granite falls & del sol valley too why not not gonna happen so i can say wtv an extra space in mt komorebi with apartments and since we're at it in san sequoia too; will def not happen working gallery - ig that might be coming too ?? idk my gallery sucks at times like it wont find any results when there are ?? and i know there are bc if i restrict more it might come up with something?? also just wanted better mechanism for the searches, i never had issues with disturbing content showing up tho so idk i heard some simmers weren't so lucky

bigger households - having to control or monitor 8 human/humanish sims is challeging enough but because pets, because having to fake apartments, because reasons; i use mccc but this workaround brings issues in cas so yea, wishlist ✔️ snakes // lizards - this would've been appropriate to launch with horses imo and i'd love if there had been interaction/compatibility from snakes in the wild and those taller friends & other small pets - small pet options in ts4 are non existent, sorry, birds only exist in that one tree (they are probably happy about not being captive actually), bunnies are also wild (personally im fine with it but i know that its a popular pet so i'd love if it was an option), reptiles don't exist (yet) and rodents are exclusive to the slap-in-the-face-of-this-community pack... 🐁🐇🐢🦎🐍🐦🐜 faeries or other fae kin - i feel like they've hinted at it for quite a while and we've seen it show up in quizzes too?? 🧚‍♀️ so i'm hopeful for this one and hope they are just trying to make sure they properly deliver on it bc there's a lot of fantasy enthusiasts and they deserve it & woodland creatures - personally would love it if the fae pack came with woodsy world and the addition of woodland creatures at least the spiritual kind (like unicorns or a white doe which they possibly alluded to with puzzles - it made me real giddy) bonus points if it has some outdoor retreat compatibility

owning more lots - after winning the lottery or keeping up with a family for generations, sims can accumulate quite a lot of money, there's not a lot of expenses in the life of a sim tbh, travelling only costs one loading screen, gardeing makes you rich and thats ok ig but being able to own a holiday house would be welcomed, not just a business 🏘️ nectar making - when tartosa came but no nectar making i was a bit let down, imagine making or acquiring a special batch for your wedding?? it would've been lovely and appropriate for a wedding pack but ... yeah anyway it comes with the horse pack for some reason so at least it's coming, and only 3 years after juice fizzing 🥂 bands and more instruments - another thing they've hinted at in polls and i kinda wished it to come with HSY yet was not surprised it didn't; that being said we need drums and other instruments like bass and/or contrabass, just more than what we have if we're to have bands plz skating and/or surfing - these two are very different and honestly idk how the latter one would work, i just think they are popular sports we could have; at least skate boards should be easy enough to implement and a cute way for sims to drift around their closed off worlds so i have more hope for that one 🏄

hotels - even if they've been around the franchise and ts4 seems to draw all it's ideas from previous iterations i'm not confident they haven't just been replaced by rental properties but it's not the same, i'd like to be able to meet other guests vacationing on the property without having to engineer everything about it, ordering meals at hotel services and running/owning a hotel also; retirement homes - ELDER SIM LOVE IN GENERAL (canes, health issues, idk im not that old yet ..hum wills & testiments, special interactions) i feel growing together really fucked up on that one but i was not surprised bc it's ts4 and we rely on crumbs mods here and thats why some players stop buying dlc 👵☕👴 the townie refreshes - just pay some fans to do it at this point bc it's taking so long; most of them don't need to be redesigned anyway, just add hot and cold weather outfits, preferences and maybe a sneaky extra trait or lifestyle they could have developed and voilá, finish that chapter disabilities - i don't want it in the form of traits and thing it's rotten to make people to pay for it BUT i'd love to see some disability representation in this game, physical, cognitive and what not. i understand at this point it might be hard to introduce but i think it be really important to have this in the sims and ts4 is about time funerals & cemeteries - death is a part of life, this is a life sim... thats it basically, i want it, i miss it in comparison to previous games, i fake it with parks and inviting guests over, but we shouldn't have to tho seems pretty basic stuff

more and better apartments - i would like it if we saw more conjoined builds, more apartment builds, both with few floors and plenty, the option to have sims living in different floors of the same building and even having business or community lots in builds that are divided into multiple lots - ambitious ik - bonus points if they update apartments in a way you can own one or more and rent them out - i don't want to play as a landlord, i swear - i just want my sims to be allowed do simbnb while they go for a weekend in the city (which ig u cant bc of the current system/coding idk) or bringing them to more existing worlds but bc of the obstacles to that i have 0 hopes well-crafted worldly words - i see a lot of americancentric choices being made when creating the worlds, it's unrealistic for a global player base and hum.. a life sim and whenever they drop interesting worlds they are always so frigging small you have to sacrifice making a lively town, with people and businesses, if you want you're sim to live in certain environments (or use multibuilds, which is fine ig but it bothers me a bit) and they fail to utilize the common spaces of the neighbourhoods in ways simmers would love to, to bring some life into these worlds; 🌍 the worldly part of it... i am yet to see african like climates and cultures represented, asia is so wide & full of diversity and we get one japan inspired world so far, south america if confined to a destination world if you don't have mods ig (maybe it's changed by now im not sure) and europe while being represented in 3 packs so far - and one of them being the best in terms of lots per world we've had so far - 2 of them have few lots and its all very niche, so in a way i don't need to be able to point to the actual cities that inspired those worlds, it's not my priority just something that crowded and lively that draws from wider range of cultures and that mre people could recognize as close to their experience would be nice 🌏 also more islands maybe im a sulani simp new jobs & careers - i love GTW, it was the first pack i got and sure it deserved a refresh by now and i would welcome it, especially if it meant more careers, i really liked that gameplay feature; that being said i feel like we deserve more job options OR branches. y no dentist ??? i cant think of ideas right now but while playing the game and setting up townies or sims i feel limited a lot trans content fixes - yea i avoid using the in-game system for trans rep (i headcanon a lot and cheat stuff basically) bc its just not the best in general (clothes fit weird, there's no changes in the frame through time as there would be with hormonal treatments - which there arent in the game so makes sense), not in comparison bc i dont know other games to compare it to just real life ig but im not even that informed tbh; i am happy they didnt create a life sim where trans people are erased and don't want them to be discouraged to stop investing in this at all so i try not to mention it but fix the binder at least & here's a tumblr post that helps me a bit something that surprises me - /pos !! because... they don't... a lot of what we see seems to me like repeating the content ideas from older games but spreading it out to make as much dlc as possible; i had a lot of more wow reveal moments with ts2 & ts3 i feel like but cant truly be sure bc brain is mush

[toestalucia]

nonspoiler stuff now that im normal about main story again

1) was thinking about the part in anni event where vyrn and logia takes care of literally baby captain while their dad is on some meeting......T_T the fact vyrns been thro eeevveeerryytthiiinnggg with them is. its. its! family.............aauughhhh zinkenstill............

2) ive been trying to figure out akiras farming sim au again. its going terrible. on one hand its the one au where it Works for them to not know the wizards prior, cuz the themes of moving somewhere smaller to take a break & similiar themes is such a running theme throughout the ones ive played, and i think akira fits into that criteria. but also they love the wizards so much that i.....T_T i cant take that feeling of belonging from them.....maybe ill just make 2. teehee. i have like 2 modern aus for them anyway might as well go double on Everything. nvr making them farmer tho i wanna make up heart events

like in comparison gran is So easy. gran likes to travel, and Do travel in that kind of au. likes meeting new stories & towns & ppl. has a complicated relation with their dad. rly handy since they grew up helping with farming stuff left n right n chopping wood the entire thing. can give tips & tricks on most things. easy to learn(copy!). like i think gran n akira both have themes of coming to terms with ur feelings in those settings but ig thats also a very human thing overall so....<3?!?!?!!? point is ive been thinking about farming sims again and how gran can bounce off of/relate to ppl who also has a parent who went away

i think thats all. for now

[europesimcard]

Europe SIM Card

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User-Friendly Interface: Designed for ease of use, the website enables quick and efficient comparisons, allowing travelers to select the most appropriate connectivity solutions without hassle.

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Understanding the unique requirements of Australians traveling to Europe, EuropeSIMCard.com.au ensures compatibility and convenience in its offerings. The platform's services are specifically designed to cater to this demographic, providing solutions that facilitate seamless communication across European destinations.

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[intellonixai]

Pocket WiFi vs. Local SIM Cards: Which is Better for Your Swiss Adventure?

When planning a trip to Switzerland, staying connected is as essential as packing your hiking boots or booking a cozy chalet. Whether you want to navigate scenic alpine routes, share Instagram-worthy photos, or coordinate travel plans with friends, reliable internet access is key. The two most popular options for connectivity are Pocket WiFi Switzerland and local SIM cards. But which one suits your travel needs best? Let’s dive into the pros, cons, and use cases of each to help you make an informed decision.

What Is Pocket WiFi?

Pocket WiFi is a portable device that acts as a mobile hotspot, enabling you to connect multiple devices to the internet via cellular data. These devices are easy to rent and offer widespread coverage in Switzerland. Providers like Wifio.world specialize in offering seamless Pocket WiFi services for tourists.

What Is a Local SIM Card?

A local SIM card is a small chip that you insert into an unlocked smartphone to access a local mobile network. It provides voice, text, and data services, allowing you to use your phone as if you were a local resident.

Comparison: Pocket WiFi vs. Local SIM Cards

1. Ease of Use

Pocket WiFi: Pocket WiFi devices are plug-and-play. Simply turn on the device, connect your smartphone, laptop, or tablet to the hotspot, and you’re ready to surf. They don’t require you to swap out your phone’s SIM card or fiddle with phone settings.

Local SIM Cards: Using a local SIM card involves additional steps. You need an unlocked phone, purchase a SIM card upon arrival, and manually configure settings to access the local network. For tech-savvy travelers, this may be easy, but for others, it can be a hassle.

Winner: Pocket WiFi

2. Internet Coverage

Pocket WiFi: Pocket WiFi devices, especially from providers like Wifio.world, utilize Switzerland’s robust 4G and 5G networks, offering stable and widespread coverage, even in remote alpine regions.

Local SIM Cards: Local SIM cards also offer excellent coverage in cities and towns. However, coverage in rural or mountainous areas may vary depending on the network provider.

Winner: Tie

3. Connectivity for Multiple Devices

Pocket WiFi: A Pocket WiFi device can connect multiple devices simultaneously, making it ideal for groups or families traveling together. Everyone can stay online without purchasing multiple SIM cards.

Local SIM Cards: A local SIM card only works in the device it’s installed in, meaning each traveler needs their own SIM card for internet access.

Winner: Pocket WiFi

4. Cost

Pocket WiFi: Renting Pocket WiFi for Switzerland typically costs around $5–$10 per day, depending on the provider and data plan. For longer trips, these costs can add up but often include unlimited data.

Local SIM Cards: Local SIM cards can be more affordable, with plans starting as low as $20 for several GB of data. However, frequent top-ups may be required, and international calls or roaming charges can inflate costs.

Winner: Local SIM Cards

5. Convenience and Accessibility

Pocket WiFi: Renting a Pocket WiFi device is straightforward. You can book online through providers like Wifio.world and have the device delivered to your hotel or pick it up at the airport. Returning the device is just as easy.

Local SIM Cards: SIM cards are available at airports, convenience stores, and mobile shops. However, locating a store, waiting in line, and navigating language barriers can be inconvenient, especially after a long flight.

Winner: Pocket WiFi

6. Battery Life

Pocket WiFi: Pocket WiFi devices typically offer 8–12 hours of battery life, depending on usage. You may need to carry a power bank to keep it charged during long excursions.

Local SIM Cards: Since SIM cards use your phone’s battery, you won’t have to worry about carrying additional gadgets. However, heavy data use can drain your phone’s battery faster.

Winner: Local SIM Cards

7. Flexibility for Calls and Texts

Pocket WiFi: Pocket WiFi is solely for internet access. You’ll need apps like WhatsApp or Skype for calls and messages.

Local SIM Cards: A local SIM card provides a Swiss phone number, allowing you to make local calls and send texts without relying on internet-based apps.

Winner: Local SIM Cards

When Should You Choose Pocket WiFi?

Pocket WiFi is ideal for:

Groups or families who need to connect multiple devices.

Frequent internet users who require unlimited data for streaming, uploading, or navigating.

Short-term visitors who prefer hassle-free setup and flexibility.

Travelers visiting remote areas, as Pocket WiFi often offers better coverage with high-end providers like Wifio.world.

When Should You Choose a Local SIM Card?

Local SIM cards are best for:

Solo travelers who only need internet on one device.

Budget-conscious travelers looking for cost-effective data plans.

Long-term visitors staying in Switzerland for weeks or months.

Those needing local calling and texting capabilities.

The Verdict

Choosing between Pocket WiFi and a local SIM card ultimately depends on your travel style, budget, and connectivity needs. For groups, short trips, or travelers seeking convenience, Pocket WiFi Switzerland is the clear winner. Providers like Wifio.world make it easy to stay online without complications, offering reliable devices with extensive coverage.

On the other hand, if you’re a solo traveler or staying in Switzerland for an extended period, a local SIM card might be the more economical choice. However, remember to ensure your phone is unlocked and compatible with Swiss networks.

Final Tip: Why Not Both?

For ultimate flexibility, some travelers opt for both options. Use a Pocket WiFi device to connect multiple gadgets and a local SIM card for local calls and emergency communication. This way, you’ll have all bases covered during your Swiss adventure.

So, whether you’re exploring Zurich’s cultural scene, hiking the Matterhorn, or enjoying fondue in a quaint mountain village, staying connected is simple. Rent a Pocket WiFi for Switzerland from trusted providers like Wifio.world, or grab a local SIM card and embark on your journey with confidence.